New Deal Programs

FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration)

FERA's main goal was alleviating household unemployment by creating new unskilled jobs in local and state government. It created jobs, financed college educations for poor students, set up daycares for low income families, dispense food and clothing to needy SUCCESS (made new jobs for people)

PWA (Public Works Administration)

It concentrated on the construction of large-scale public works such as dams and bridges, with the goal of providing employment, stabilizing purchasing power, and contributing to a revival of American industry. Most of the spending came in two waves in 1933-35, and again in 1938. The PWA was closed down in 1939.The WPA hired only people on relief who were paid directly by the government, where as the PWA gave contracts to private firms who did all the hiring. SUCCESS (reduced employment)

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. In June 1933. Innovative attempt at regional planning. Series of dams in seven states on the Tennessee river to control floods, ease navigation, and produce electricity. Endures to this day. Relief and Reform FAIL (created ecological problems)

NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act)

allowed the president to regulate most businesses in an effort to restrict 'unfair competition' It is widely agreed that the NIRA was a failure as public policy. Even by early 1935 there was nearly a consensus in Congress that the industry codes were not working and that the economic effects of the public works provisions would not be felt for many years. A key criticism of the act is that the Act hindered economic growth by promoting cartels and monopolies. A second key criticism of the Act is that it lacked support from the business community, and thus was doomed to failure. A third major criticism of the Act is that it was poorly administered. FAIL

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

employed about 3 million unemployed, unmarried men, ages 18-25, to work on projects that benefited the public, planting trees to reforest areas, building levees for flood control, and improving national parks. This program gave jobs to men but it also benefited the public. The CCC was designed to provide employment for young men in relief families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression while at the same time implementing a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory. Despite its popular support, the CCC was never a permanent agency. It depended on emergency and temporary Congressional legislation for its existence. By 1942, with the war industries booming and the draft in operation, need declined and Congress voted to close the program. The CCC was one of the most successful of the New Deal programs. Even today, many people think something like the CCC would be benificial for our economy and the unemployed. SUCCESS

SSA (Social Security Act)

guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at age 65; set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and care for dependent mothers and children, the handicapped, and public health SUCCESS

AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act)

restricted agricultural production in the New Deal era by paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land and to kill off excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus so as to effectively raise the value of crops, thereby a portion of their fields lie fallow. The money for these subsidies was generated through an exclusive tax on companies which processed farm products. The Act created a new agency, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, to oversee the distribution of the subsidies. It is considered the first modern U.S. farm bill. Although the AAA was overall a successful program that stimulated American agriculture, it was not without its faults. The New Deal never had the money or political power required to reach the majority of impoverished Southern tenant farmers. By the last half of the century sharecropping and tenant farming had become obsolete. SUCCESS

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

to insure bank deposits. They made sure no money was lost so that there would never be another Great Depression like that one again. SUCCESS

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of men and women to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing, and housing. The WPA had provided almost 8 million Americans with jobs for 8 years. Most people who needed a job were eligible for at least some of its positions. Hourly wages were typically set to the prevailing wages in each area. During 1940, the WPA changed policy and began vocational educational training of the unemployed to make them available for factory jobs. Previously, labor unions had vetoed any proposal to provide new skills. Unemployment ended with the beginning of war production for World War II, so Congress terminated the WPA during late 1943. SUCCESS (provided a lot of jobs to get people stable)